Thursday's news
18 Jul 2013
Eight straight for Queensland, Britain legalises same-sex marriage, Boston bomber 'glamorised' and Woolworths admits Masters losses.
Eight straight for Queensland
An unprecedented eighth straight State of Origin series win for Queensland last night was interrupted minutes from full-time by a streaker.
Thirty-three-year-old Wati Holmwood ran nearly the entire length of the field before tripping close to the try line.
After the game, NSW coach Laurie Daley looked forward to his team’s next chance in 2014.
"We've been hurting for eight years,” Daley said. “It's going to be a long 12 months, it's going to be a hard 12 months, but we've got to come back."
Catch up on all the action from Sydney Olympic Stadium.
Hardware chain rollout losses higher than expected
Woolworths has admitted the costs of rolling out the hardware chain it has a two-third stake in will be higher than expected, but denies that one-third owner Lowes is planning to end the partnership.
The Masters rollout 2012-13 loss, which had been expected to reach $119 million, has blown out to a predicted $157 million because of lower-than-forecast sales, higher wage costs and lower profits margins.
Britain legalises gay marriage
Queen Elizabeth II has given her stamp of approval to a bill legalising same-sex marriage in England and Wales, meaning that – once some red tape is sorted out – the first ceremonies may be held next summer.
Britain is the 15th country to legalise same-sex marriage.
Magazine criticised for Boston bomber cover
Rolling Stone magazine is being criticised for featuring Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar ‘Jahar’ Tsarnaev on its cover.
Commentators on one side argue that featuring Tsarnaev on the cover of the music and culture magazine, usually graced by celebrities and cultural figures, glamourises terrorism and further traumatises victims.
On the other side of the debate, the editors of Rolling Stone have released a statement saying that the cover is part of their commitment to quality journalism.
“The cover story we are publishing this week falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stone’s long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day,” the statement read. “The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of our readers, makes it all the more important for us to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens.”
The photo itself is taken from Tsarnaev’s social media and was previously published on the front page of the New York Times.
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